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Read MoreCowboy Approved Potato Casserole
By popular request, here is the potato casserole recipe that was served at this year’s branding. Belinda Sursa is a former team roper, all around ranch hand, and as part of being married to a New Mexico cowboy, she can cook too. She has fed day workin’ crews for...
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Read MoreCowboy Gear: Chaps
Chinks. Leggin’s. Woolies. Batwings. Hair pants. Shotguns. “Humans dress up but the cowboy dresses down.” Short for chaparejos, the Spanish term for overalls or leather breeches, chaps are an important part of the cowboy’s wardrobe. Northern cowboys used angora or sheep pelts for warmth; “woolies”. Texas...
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Read MoreCowboy Gear: Hat
Stetson. Conk-case. Lid. War-bonnet. Ten-gallon. “Don’t Mess with a cowboy’s hat.” The cowboy hat remains a universal image of the working cowboy. If you put one on your head, you’ll feel taller, perhaps a little more adventurous. In the fraction of a second, you suddenly become part of...
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Read MoreCowboy Gear: Wild Rag
Bandana. Neckerchief. Wipes. Wild Rag. “It’s the man that’s the cowhand, not the outfit he wears.” The history of cowboy gear can be traced back to the Spanish Vaquero, who without question, looked very fine sitting astride a horse. The clothes they wore added much to their mystique and...
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Read MoreBranding Crew Pea Salad
It’s that time of year… Time to round up the new crop of Angus calves for branding and vaccines. Cowboys and cowgirls are on their horses at sunrise, and the work is done by noon, way before the thermometer will reach its peak. The branding crews are quick and...
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Read MoreCalf on the ground!
“Nobody ever drowned himself in sweat.” Finally – it is spring! Birds singing, flower and garden planting, evening walks and vacation planning. If your livelihood has anything to do with a cattle ranch though, you best hold up because spring is when the real work begins. Cowmen spend...
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Read MoreHey Mom, You Should Know…
…I Kept the Bedspread. Remember the one that matched that wacky green carpet and odd gold walls in the new house on Cleveland Street? You laid it across your bed one day: mauve and pale pink flowers on a leafy background of green and gold along with a plaid...
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Read MoreTrouble in Texas: Horse Thieves
A wild west adventure story, which all begins because of a missing horse. Click Here: Buy it now! Click on the BOOKS Tab at the top of the page for more details about the book. I’m releasing the first two chapters of my new book exclusively to my Email Newsletter...
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Prairie Purview
Another Cowboy Rides Away
“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.” ~JOHN WAYNE We sat through a well-attended memorial service this week for one of our ranching neighbors who passed away suddenly in a tragic accident. The service was delayed for several minutes because of a wreck that blocked one of the main roads into this small Texas Panhandle town. The Minister had heard that several people were stuck on the road behind the turned over tanker, so we waited; home town courtesy at its best. Whines of a fiddle and the strums of a guitar pulsed through a typically silent Church sanctuary. On this afternoon, we were treated to toe-tapping, old-time country music before the celebration of life began. While my husband and I hadn’t known Jim that many years, I have since learned him to be a hardworking family man who professed a great love for his land, a good roping horse, and an almighty God. Many recalled the quiet presence of a tall cowboy in times of trouble, with a calloused hand gently placed on their shoulder, and a prayer, soft and sincere. “Jim put his big ‘ole hand on my arm and prayed like he would talk to you or me,” the Minister said. “He...
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Lorenzo De Zavala & His Fight against Opression
Remembering a leader and freedom fighter for the Texas Republic in March 1836, 181 years ago a free Texas declared independence from Mexico. The kids and I took a tour of the Texas Capitol building in Austin last summer. This impressive domed structure is made of sunset red granite from a local quarry. Sitting on 2.25 acres, it contains 360,000 square feet (33,000 m2) and has nearly four hundred rooms. The central rotunda features portraits of every person who has served as president of the Republic of Texas or as governor of the State of Texas. On the second floor, we were allowed into one of the legislative chambers because lawmakers were not in session at the time of our visit. The room oozed history, tradition, and power. I really love old, historical buildings. I think about the many souls that walked the same stairs and occupied the same space and it always gives me chills. The art work and the murals were impressive. In one corner of the chamber, I noticed a portrait of man. It wasn’t sized as grand a scale like so many of the other portraits we had seen that day. The placard beneath read, in part: Lorenzo De Zavala 1788-1836 The first vice-president of the Republic of Texas. The more I’ve...
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Carson County, Texas
An early pioneer of the Texas Panhandle, Judge J. C. Paul, recalls Carson County when he first arrived in January 1888: “It was a beautiful, smooth prairie, as far as the eye could see – not a tree – not even a shrub knee high to hide a jack rabbit, for miles in every direction. No fences, no roads, no houses, only a few people around Panhandle, the only settlement then in all of that plains county.” He recalls...
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Moms Against THE WORLD
If You’re Not Tired, You’re Not doing it Right As we step into a new year, my teenagers remind me how fast time passes. Sticky fingers and fights over the bouncy ball have been replaced with bearded faces and accusations of using the other brother’s shampoo. In this new year, I’m praying that my young adults come closer to realizing what’s important in life. I want them to be happy, love the work they do, and behave like decent...
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